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The Commoner
VOL. 15, NO: 7
Lincoln, Nebraska, July, 1915
' ?
Whole Number 675 -.
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TO THE KBADERS OP THE COMMONER: . .
A little more than two years ago, fate and circumstance brought upon me official tasks which made it impossible for mo
to speak as frequently or as fully to the readers of The Com-, ner as it hart been my pleasure to do for the preceding 12 years,
and The Commoner was changed from a weekly to a monthly. A few of the readers complained, but the great majority of them
recognized the necessity for the change and continued their loyal support. In time many of them expressed the belief that the
disadvantage arising from the longer intervals between issues was more than offset by the 'fact that matters could be treated
more at length and with more completeness. I am grateful to the readers for the consideration which they have shown and for
the loyalty which they have manifested.
Fate and circumstance have now relieved me of official ;jres and made it possible for me to devote a larger share of , my
time to editorial work, and I hope to make The Commoner a more acceptable visitor to the homes of its friends than it ever has
been before.
Great progress has been made since March 4th, 1913; many economic problems have been solved or are in the process f
solution. The Democratic party has made a record of which it has reason to be proud, but its work is not yet done. It will . e
Wnleasure, as I-deem it my duty, to discuss the subjects yet to be dealt with and to present them from the standpoint of the
whole peope with the hope of contributing toward solutions which will be consistent wth the Jcffcoman
-Equal rights to all and special privileges to none." I shall not attempt to deal with all ot the reform
tiaWtfr do so would be to impair energy and weaken effort, along practical lines. There is no advantage to be gained by Ju
LiacS attention from the things immediately in front of us to tfa things that are afar oft ; it is better to invie -operation in
the taking of the steps immediately before us. The securing or a aesirame raing aay aoio m., w . -
another desirable thing tomorrow; no future good is menaced by the securing of a reform which is now possible.
The Commoner has in the past relied for an extension of its influence upon the zeal of its readers and upon this zeal it U
relies. If you believe that The Commoner is helpful, tell your neighbors so, and you will thus materially aidrt m M nn,
dertaken. ' '.
'.
M
aking ..the Issue
Clear
. . i ' ' "
' It is strange, how difficult it is for some well ia
tontioned'cltteQiiB to understand the real issue
raised by E-President Taffs "League to En
force Peace." When Mr. Bryan called attention
to the fact that the plan adopted by the league
necessarily contemplates a.surrender of the Mon
roe Doctrine, one of the advocates of the nlan
immediately rushed to the conclusion that Mr.
Bryan was opposed to the use of force under any
circumstances. Tfe was accused ot being vision
ary and his views were' scouted as impracticable
Behold how easily- the objectors can be put to
confusion! The Monroe Doctrine is not the doc
trine ot tlio non-resistant; it contemplates the
use of force whenever force is necessary to pro
tect the western hemisphere from the greed and
ambition of the Old World. This has been the
attitude of our nation for a century and this is
still its attitude.
But why should we add to our responsibilities
by undertaking to police Europe? Have we not
quite 'enough to do to- Btand sponsor for the in
dependence of our sister republics? Our nation
is the dominant political influence In the western
hemisphere; this is a fact which does not need to
be asserted. But this nation docs not covet its
neighbors' lands or its neighbors' prosperity or
anything else that is its neighbors. The Latiu
American republics are not only self-governing
but they recognize the foundation principles cf
CONTENTS
MAKING THE IS'SUE CLEAR
.FORCE ONLY A LAST RESORT
-,;1 "DODGING A3 USUAL
AGAIN 0Ti YET?
TWO LETTERS
REPUBLICAN SOLICITUDE UNNECES
SARY MR. BRYAN'S CAMPAIGN FOR PEACE
"THE CAUSELESS WAR" AND ITS
LESSONS FOR US A SERIES OF
THREE STATEMENTS
LABOR'S INTEREST IN PEACE
NATIONAL HONOR
THE FARMER'S INTEREST IN PEACE
. THE MEANING OF THE FLAG
JOURNALISM
WOMAN'S INTEREST IN PEACE
republican institutions and they would asslBjt th
United States in repelling a trans-Atlantic foe.
Mr. Taft's organization "The League to En
force Peace" advocates entrance into the pol
itics of Europe. It does not, it Is true, demand,
participation in the present war, although ev,on
this, according to the press, was advocated by
some of these present at the organization of tho
league. But who, with the present war in mind,
can view with composure the suggestion that vo
should become a party to future European
wrangles? Tho present war is apparently cause-"
less; so far as discernible at this distance, there
existed no adequate surface cause for this tin-
precedented struggle. It is traceable to the false
philosophy upon which the European nation's have
acted, and, so far as is known, now act. They
are believers in the doctrine that might makes
right and that fear is the only basis upon which
peace can rest. This is not the doctrine that
prevails in the New World and our country ;an
not afford to tie itself to the nations that believe
in this doctrine and are now acting according to
It. "Be ye not lequally yoked together" Is an
admonition that may well be heeded in interna
tional affairs. If we adhere to the ideals of the
past and to the traditions of our nation, we will
seek to make the world better through tho ik-
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